A friend of mine 2 years ago got his house broken into he was renting. He lives there with his 2 kids and his wife. He works and makes like 17.00 an hour and his wife works part time so they are by no means rich. So these are the items that were stolen- Nintendo WII along with appx 15 games and 4 controllers and other accessories- PS3 with many accessories and appx 20 games- His fathers Army Medals and the flag from the funeral- A 40 inch LCD TV- His mothers good silverware- ALL of his wifes jewelry she accrued over the years (appx $6000.00)- 2 Nintendo 3Ds's and appx 10 3Ds games- 2 dvd players- alot of clothes, dresses and suits and shoes- He also had a old Mustang Mach 1 he was almost done restoring (been restoring it little by little for over 7 years) that was used as a getaway car but the engine wasnt done yet and in the process of the thief driving it away blew the engine up and did a ton of body damage (the body was 100% complete). The damage alone on the car was in excess over 15,000.00.Basically my friend told the judge it would cost him over 10K to replace everything in the house that was stolen or destroyed and 15K for the car because he wasnt driving it and didnt have insurance on it as of yet. Now he doesnt have renters insurance (should of but didnt). Well they caught the 1 guy who did it but he wouldnt tell on his other friends. So they guy was convicted and sentenced to 2 years (he had prev felonies) and said he didnt have any of the stuff anymore. So the "judge" orders him to pay restitution of....................... 5000.00!!!! So the guy basically was allowed to profit off of his crime!!! Well after 15 months in jail he is released. While in jail he gets his HS diploma and does MANDATORY job training. He now lives in a halfway house (rent free i believe) and works at US Steel (which was the job he was GIVEN) and makes $25 and change an hour. My friend gets something like 55.00 a month until the 5K is paid.

What is wrong with our justice system? Why did we reward this felon with a PREMIUM job? Why was he only ordered to pay 5000.00 when he did over 25,000.00 in damage? I know a ton of people that are good people and have been rejected by jobs from US Steel but they hire felons because im sure they get kick backs from the government for doing that..

I have mine through goodville mutual. I pay $10 a month for 10 months and it covers me for 12. I have $50k worth of protection with a 200 deductible or something like that. It's a must have IMO. I have peace of mind that my quad will be replaced if stolen out of my garage, my electronics are safe, hell it even covers vet bills if my dogs are injured in a break-in.

Yeah he knows that now (The renters insurance).. Im pissed for him because this thief ruined his life.. They still havent recovered from it. His credit got ruined because of it (Having to replace almost everything he owned). Now he knows people that work at the same plant as that felon guy and they have said he does nothing at work and is lazy.. stupid etc.... They said most others would of been fired for being as incompetent as this thief has been but he still works there.. I get everyone deserves a 2nd chance but to give this guy a job that pays over 50K a year is just over the top.

Sue him, duh. Your friend will win (because the issues were largely proved at trial) and he will be liable for damages - $5000 + interest. He won't be able to pay all that but you'll get some of it and make the guy's life suckier.

Yeah the issue with suing is damages. You have to prove by a preponderance the value of each thing lost. I don't suppose he periodically inventories the house, lol? Plus it would be the depreciated value of each. Ie I bet the thecar was worth way under that 15k

TheHammer24 wrote:Yeah the issue with suing is damages. You have to prove by a preponderance the value of each thing lost. I don't suppose he periodically inventories the house, lol? Plus it would be the depreciated value of each. Ie I bet the thecar was worth way under that 15k

because its now damaged? or..?

I find it hard to believe a car like that depreciates. If anything, it gains value.

Sabres_Fan wrote:Yeah he knows that now (The renters insurance).. Im pissed for him because this thief ruined his life.. They still havent recovered from it. His credit got ruined because of it (Having to replace almost everything he owned). Now he knows people that work at the same plant as that felon guy and they have said he does nothing at work and is lazy.. stupid etc.... They said most others would of been fired for being as incompetent as this thief has been but he still works there.. I get everyone deserves a 2nd chance but to give this guy a job that pays over 50K a year is just over the top.

So I'm fresh out of college, and have yet to to find a job, yet alone one that pays 50K. And he did everything you aren't supposed to do to get a job, but he still makes more than a lot of honest people.

TheHammer24 wrote:Sue him, duh. Your friend will win (because the issues were largely proved at trial) and he will be liable for damages - $5000 + interest. He won't be able to pay all that but you'll get some of it and make the guy's life suckier.

The 5K is what the judge valued all his possessions at... Its a joke.. He said the judge just basically guessed at what values of stuff were. Like for example the jewelery.. The judge rewarded 1100.. When in reality he said she had a pair of 1 year old diamond earrings that cost 1200.00.

TheHammer24 wrote:Yeah the issue with suing is damages. You have to prove by a preponderance the value of each thing lost. I don't suppose he periodically inventories the house, lol? Plus it would be the depreciated value of each. Ie I bet the thecar was worth way under that 15k

Its a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 428 Super Cobra Jet.. His is all original (why it has taken so long to restore). The honest to God value is 40-50K. He tried to sell it but his wife wouldnt let him. Said he would of become depressed if he had to sell it.